POP/ROCK - Feb. 19, 1996

Jackson, Live: Now that his video in Rio has been shot, Michael Jackson is going on stage. Jackson will make a live stage appearance today in London, his first since his collapse in New York two months ago and the subsequent announcement of his divorce from Lisa Marie Presley. Jackson is set to perform his “Earth Song” at the Brit Awards, which honor achievement in pop music. Fans chanting “Michael, we love you” besieged the London hotel where Jackson was staying. He rewarded them with a brief appearance Saturday after they had waited 28 hours to see him. Jackson’s agreement to appear live at the London show was a major coup for the organizers of the Brit Awards. The awards show will also mark the final appearance of Take That, Britain’s biggest-selling group since the Beatles.